Desert Valley Hospital in Victorville was fined after it did not follow established policies related to cardiac catheterization.

Staff at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles failed to follow surgical policies and procedures which resulted in a patient having to undergo a second surgery to remove a retained foreign object.

All four local hospitals face a $50,000 fine, which is a first for each.

The state also fined St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton after it failed to follow surgical policies and procedures. The hospital was fined $100,000. This is the hospital's fifth administrative penalty.

Other California hospitals fined were Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego and University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento,

The hospitals have worked with state regulators to change procedures to prevent recurrences. If continuing problems are found, medical centers could lose their state operating licenses or their federal Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

Hospitals have a right to appeal the fines within 10 days, according to department.